CA 19.9

yasotha manickam

hi there,

Can anyone advice me, i rececntly did my CA 19.9 test that show 35u/ml.

what is range should be for this CA19.9 test.... when i check my blood record its say 1u/ml to 31 u.ml... if its above 31u/ml like 35 u/ml... is that bad...

Yas

Buzzard

Yas........
I am trying to understand here....are you referring to the CEA levels ....My understanding is that if CEA levels are good indicators for you that 1-3 is normal for non smokers....4-6 is normal for smokers....and anything higher than that shows some type of activity...but, that is only if they are good indicators for you. In some patients they aren't so that makes them unreliable to a certain percentile......Buzzard

actually I need to know a little more about your diagnosis and all you have been through so far if anything......we have answers to all questions, we first need some background....Take your time, it will be ok.....Buzz

yasotha manickam

Buzzard said:

Yas........
I am trying to understand here....are you referring to the CEA levels ....My understanding is that if CEA levels are good indicators for you that 1-3 is normal for non smokers....4-6 is normal for smokers....and anything higher than that shows some type of activity...but, that is only if they are good indicators for you. In some patients they aren't so that makes them unreliable to a certain percentile......Buzzard

actually I need to know a little more about your diagnosis and all you have been through so far if anything......we have answers to all questions, we first need some background....Take your time, it will be ok.....Buzz

what kind of information you
what kind of information you need

CEA means what

Buzzard

yasotha manickam said:

what kind of information you
what kind of information you need

CEA means what

CEA
There are several tests ran when you get a blood draw . One of them is CEA Cryo Embryonic Antigens....along with others like WBC Hemaglobin, liver enzyme etc...all of which have their place...This is one of these that may show activity in cells or none at all, their levels are as I noted 1-3...3-6...and over 6...If these Antigen levels are good indicators for you then that is the range in which they follow to try and follow what cancer cells may be doing, or not doing...It shows activity levels in your body.

I am not familiar with u/lms or measures other than what I have just posted...Sorry but the abbreviations you posted are greek to me....I deal with whole numbers....

What all has been done for you in the field of medicine for treatment so far ?

Buzzard

Buzzard said:

CEA
There are several tests ran when you get a blood draw . One of them is CEA Cryo Embryonic Antigens....along with others like WBC Hemaglobin, liver enzyme etc...all of which have their place...This is one of these that may show activity in cells or none at all, their levels are as I noted 1-3...3-6...and over 6...If these Antigen levels are good indicators for you then that is the range in which they follow to try and follow what cancer cells may be doing, or not doing...It shows activity levels in your body.

I am not familiar with u/lms or measures other than what I have just posted...Sorry but the abbreviations you posted are greek to me....I deal with whole numbers....

What all has been done for you in the field of medicine for treatment so far ?

OK....did a little surfing and came up with this....
Remember though, it is dated 2007 but the numbers you have seem to be good ones compared to what they refer to as good and bad in this write up...Although these are mostly for pancreatic cancer it also refers to colorectal as well......Take this with a grain of salt but it looks good to me with your numbers , they seem to be very low which is good for you.....






Levels of protein CA 19-9 in blood predicts pancreatic cancer outcome after surgery
23. June 2007 03:53

A team of researchers, led by surgeons at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia, has found further evidence supporting the ability of a protein to predict how well a patient with advanced pancreatic cancer will do after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
The levels of the protein CA 19-9 in the blood can be used to determine the need for further therapy, they say.

Adam Berger, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, and his co-workers examined CA 19-9 levels and the survival of 385 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who were treated with surgery and subsequent chemotherapy and radiation. They found that those patients whose post-operative CA 19-9 level exceeded 180 U/ml did much worse than those with lower levels.

In fact, at least half of those whose CA 19-9 level was higher than 180 U/ml lived for approximately nine months, while half of those whose levels were 180 or below lived more than twice as long, about 21 months. After three years, about 30 percent of those with levels 180 or under were still alive, while virtually none of the patients with levels above 180 remained alive. He reports his team's findings June 23, 2007 at the semi-annual meeting of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) in Philadelphia.

"We think that it is a very sensitive predictor of response to chemotherapy and radiation after surgery," says Dr. Berger.

The main goal of the multicenter trial was to compare pancreatic cancer surgery patients who received two different types of chemotherapy , 5FU or gemcitabine , along with radiation. It was designed to look at CA 19-9 levels and survival after surgery as a secondary goal. Patients submitted blood samples prior to chemotherapy, which were analyzed for CA 19-9. Overall, 385 patients had levels that could be analyzed.

According to Dr. Berger, a post-surgery CA 19-9 level of 180 or less translated to a 72 percent reduction in death in patients treated with additional chemotherapy and radiation for pancreatic cancer compared to those with levels above 180.

While CA 19-9 is a well established tumor marker for pancreatic cancer, he notes, "These results allow us to stratify individuals for other therapies. If a person is operated on and has potentially curative surgery, but four to six weeks after surgery has a CA 19-9 level above 180, he or she should probably have a different treatment than what was given in this trial. They should probably have prolonged chemotherapy and hold off a little longer on radiation."

While CA 19-9 is elevated in most patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, its use as a cancer marker is not foolproof. It may also be elevated in other cancers, conditions and diseases, such as colorectal cancer, lung cancer and pancreatitis, for example.

"The findings make a strong case for everyone to have CA 19-9 scores checked after surgery," he says. "These should be followed regularly." In addition, he notes, other researchers are studying whether the rate of change in CA 19-9 can predict survival. Future trials may involve examining the predictive value of lower CA 19-9 scores.


Remember, this was from 2007 ......Things have changed drastically from then im sure.......Be well, Buzzard

Sundanceh

CA 19-9
Your CA 19-9 level of 35 is within the normal range.

Anything over 36 could be considered an indicator, but it's not always a guarantee.

I get these blood tests (many here do not) and mine have been "off the scale" for years now, so I watch them but try not to get too worked up over them.

I've had them well into the 300's...my last check was 182, which was up from 158 before.

My test is used for colorectal and pancreatic cancer measurments, as before it went to my liver, it appared to be on my pancreas. That was 2.5 years ago, and I'd probably be dead or look alot worse if I had it.

I still like to monitor it though - "once bitten, twice shy" is my motto and it gives me an indication of where I'm at.